IMHO, a 8.5 deg driver needs tremendous clubhead speed to achieve optimum performance and hence, a more robust & stable shaft is needed to complement this ... That's one reason as to why you dun/rarely see a R-Flex stock shaft goes with a 8.5 deg driver head ...

Very often low loft driver heads are paired with stiff shafts ~ based on the fact that the SS needed to launch the ball is more demanding. There's no "right" or "left" where pairing a low loft driver with a R shaft is concerned, but you can always give it a try and see how the results pen out.

Being a low loft driver user myself (been there done that) with a R shaft & the results did not turn out as I hoped it would.........

I thought the first question to ask is why go for a 8.5deg head. It is less forgiving and requires a high swing speed to make it work. Better to determine what driver loft works best for your swing first before spending the money on shafts.

May be good to go to a fitter and check out your AoA, launch angle & swing speed. With more info, easier to determine what's needed.

In that case, actually got solution. Go see Eric and seek some free advice. He will be more than willing to share and at the same time, can get on the launch monitor & check out your swing specs.

I have this high launch problem, fiddled with many drivers starting from 8deg to 10.5deg now. Burned some money along the way on this quest. Then i dropped by the Den and saw Eric. He told me to do some drills to get the swing on plane. No damage in terms of $$$ done. I still launch the ball high (no time to groove the swing) but I figured that as long as can carry the ball, happy enough already.

Agree with Vinny that 8.5deg head experiment may not pan out well. I went that route and came back hopefully the wiser now.